A relative of mine has the perfect set up. His second floor three season porch and intimate outdoor deck overlook an immaculately landscaped yard featuring a stone patio surrounding a lovely in-ground swimming pool and dining area. Next to the dining area is a shop window into a bar/kitchen. Did I mention the grill? OH, THE GRILL!!!!

Another has a private deck facing the woods, set up under a canopy to be a beautiful dining area. A set of steps lead down to another deck that has a more relaxed gathering atmosphere. Another set of stairs lead to a southeast facing deck that’s arranged with lounge chairs and tiny drink tables. Perfect for catching some rays. A few steps away from that is their above ground pool. Just a few feet beyond the pool is a shaded firepit surrounded by chairs overlooking their rock garden with flowers designed to draw hummingbirds. I feel more relaxed just describing it.

I’m not even going to mention the guy with the in-ground pool, koi pond and cabana house. He’s an article all on his own for another blog.

More and more people, particularly buyers, are realizing that living space has always meant interior living space, but that doesn’t have to be the only living space that sells for you. Outdoor living space is a thing. It’s a tool you can use to make your home irresistible as a buyer pulls up to the curb. Often the costs of upgrading the outdoor areas are less than the interior remodeling.

In all the scenarios above, the owner picked a spot, gave it a purpose and developed that purpose. The series of decks lead to a lovely day, start to finish. Breakfast on the dining deck, lunch on the lounging deck, resting in the warm soothing sun and pool play on the sunbathing deck. As the day wanes, you’ll be dining in the cool shade around the firepit watching the hummingbirds and as the sun goes down fireflies.  Each spot had a planned and developed purpose. I can run through the “destination” plans with each of the other places as well. A number of buyers I’ve worked with over the years have looked for properties with “Destination Possibilities” right on the property.

There’s a few advantages to targeting the exterior of your home for improvement. I mentioned cost advantage before. The other is: there’s usually a lot more of the outside than the inside. You have more space to develop, with no walls, ceilings or floors to work on.  You can make a flat grassy area into anything you want. The firepit idea has a lot of merit, relatively low cost and you can design a variety of different sights to delight the senses around it. Another is mulching and adding flower beds and shrubs to the front of your home with a nice round covered table and chairs off to one side, so you can lounge and people-watch over iced tea. Others, driving by, will see the manicured yard and think the house must be just as well maintained. The table and chairs suggests a nice friendly community, where everybody smiles and says hello as they saunter by. Curb appeal at it’s finest.

Technology is also improving for the out of doors areas as well. Outdoor sound systems are waterproof, hidden and can connect to entertainment systems in the home, so your favorite playlists are clear and beautiful indoors and out. Lighting has improved too. Options with solar lights are better, more efficient and brighter than ever. Outdoor projectors for movies are more affordable than ever. A buddy of mine with a large backyard even build a projector and screen set up to fit his yard with PVC and bed sheets that works wonderfully.

You can spend thousands for state of the art, professionally installed outdoor venues. Or you can do it yourself with a little sweat and ingenuity. Doing it right does make your home more marketable. Doing it the way you like makes it more fun. You’re creating fun destinations to visit ON YOUR OWN PROPERTY. Building a destination you love won’t just draw you. It’ll draw friends as well. Once your own amusement park is finished, you might not want to sell it after all.

And Thus, A Party is Born and/or a listing is made into a must-have property.

Lew McConkey, Realtor

Coletta Cutler Realty